How do you view the world? Or, more specifically, how do you view the people in the world? Do you look at everyone with distrust? Skepticism? Apathy? Hatred?

And how ought we to think about the people in the world? As we think about that question from a Christian point of view, it’s only logical to reason that we should have the same attitude toward people that God Himself has toward people, since we’re told to have the same mind as that of Christ Jesus.

But it’s interesting that when we try to understand from Scripture what God thinks about the world and the people in it, there isn’t just one answer. At times, the Bible says that God loves everyone, and at times it says that God regretted even making people.

Jesus did not entrust Himself to men, because He knew what was in a man. And we’re all sinners, so maybe knowing that, we ought not to trust anyone, because they might betray us like they did Jesus.

Or maybe, knowing that we’re all in the same boat, we should be like one beggar showing another beggar where to find food. After all, Jesus had compassion on the crowds, understanding that they are like sheep without a shepherd.

So to sum up the dilemma that we have, the Bible says in John 3:16 that:

God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son… (John 3:16a)

And it also says in Psalm 5:5 that:

[God] hates all evildoers. (Psalm 5:5b)

And if we’re honest, we all know that we’ve all done evil.

So how can both of these things be true? How can God both hate us and love us? How can He regret making us and also have compassion on us? How can God both distrust us and yet entrust us with the very message of the gospel?

Well, that’s a lot of questions for us to tackle this morning, so let’s pray.

Father, as we consider the paradox of Your love and righteous judgment, give us wisdom to catch even just a small glimpse of who You are and Your plan for us. And help us to be faithful messengers of Your redeeming love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

We’re going to look at several verses of Scripture this morning, so I’ll put them all on the screens, but feel free to look them up in your Bible if you want to make use of your Bible drill skills.

Last week, we started looking at 2 Timothy 1:7. It says:

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. (2 Timothy 1:7)

So in the sermon last week, we focused on how God has given a spirit of power. But we didn’t really talk about how God gave us this spirit, or what that means.

In Greek, the word ?????? can literally mean your spirit, or spiritual self, but it can also refer to your breath, or the wind. The idea that connects these is that a ?????? is not stationary, but has movement to it. Wind moves. Breath moves. Even the Holy Spirit has movement, as Jesus said:

The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

In English, we often use the word “spirit” to mean something like your demeanor, and it comes from this idea of the ?????? having movement. In other words, to have a spirit of fear would be to be fearful not just in the way that we feel, but in the way that we act. To have a spirit of fear would cause you to cower away from what needs to be done. That’s why we can call a hero brave instead of fearful, because even though he may have been inwardly scared to death, he did what was necessary.

So, just as we saw last week, to have a spirit of power is to be empowered to actually live the way God has called us to live, being bold in the way that we love others.

So this week, we’ll see how God has given us a spirit of love, which is also in contrast to having a spirit of fear.

You know, there are a lot of reasons why we might fear to love as we ought. Sometimes, in our confused world today, our love is taken as hate. When we share the gospel, that we’ve all sinned and yet God still loves us, that’s often received as being judgmental, when actually we’re confessing that we ourselves are sinners in need of the same grace. But knowing all this, we can be fearful of sharing the gospel, fearful of loving our neighbor as ourself.

But sometimes we can even fear showing very simple, clear acts of love. Many fathers rarely tell their children that they love them, because they’ve just never gotten into that habit. The National Center for Fathering reports that only about 4% of fathers tell their children that they love them on a consistent basis. It’s not that they don’t love their children, they do, and they often desperately want to tell their children that they love them, but they don’t because they’re afraid of how their children would respond.

Fear often causes us to shrink back from doing good things, or can even motivate us to do sinful things. Those who fear hunger might steal food. Those who fear insignificance might lie and cheat in the attempt to appear important. Those who fear life might avoid going out, preferring the safety of their home, alone.

In all honesty, that’s a temptation I have. I sometimes would love to retreat from the public and retreat from preaching because these things can bring scrutiny, but I know that if I were to retreat, not only would I feel more alone, I would be retreating from my obligation and even privilege to love others just as God has loved me.

And that’s really where the change can occur in our lives. Because as we begin to rest in God’s love for us, we find that all of our fears begin to fade away. It says in Psalm 34:

I sought the Lord, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

A well known verse in Psalm 23 says:

Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)

And we read in Psalm 27:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— whom should I dread? (Psalm 27:1)

The common theme running through all of these verses and so many more like them is that our fears are relieved as we come to know God. If we have God in our lives, we have nothing to fear!

So why is that? We saw last week that God gives us a spirit of power, and certainly power reminds us that we can face our fears, but there’s actually an even more clear answer in Scripture as to what drives our fear away. 1 John 4:18 says:

There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. (1 John 4:18)

Love casts out fear. When you’re in love, and you know that you’re loved, there’s no fear from within the relationship.

That’s the power of love.

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.

I love the line in that song that says:

It’s strong and it’s sudden, it can be cruel sometimes
But it might just save your life

That’s God’s love. It’s powerful and overwhelming, and from a human point of view, it can seem cruel sometimes, but it saves us, and when we rest in His love, it drives out all fear.

So when you think about your relationship with God, are you afraid of Him? Or have you rested in His love for you, because God Himself is perfect love? And that isn’t something we just have to wonder about. God demonstrated His love for us by sending His Son Jesus to the cross to die for our sins, so that we can be forgiven in Him.

It’s absolutely true that God hates all evildoers. Sin is a rebellion against God’s authority, and sin is even an attack against God’s character, since God Himself never sins. So as sinners, we’ve all established ourselves as His enemies. And yet, God loves everyone that He’s made in His image, which is everyone. So out of His love, God Himself became a man, to rescue all mankind as we come to faith in Him.

So have you done that? Have you rested in the grace God has for you? Because until you receive His love, you’re still choosing fear, and where there’s fear, there’s the possibility of punishment.

Maybe you come to church because you’re afraid of God. Maybe you do good things because you think that’s how you avoid hell. Maybe you have a constant feeling that God only loves you when you read your Bible every day, or when you avoid getting drunk, or when you avoid using profanity. But the message of the Bible is that even while we were still sinners, God still loved us, and Christ died for us.

And God has given this same spirit of love to us. Paul wrote that we are transformed by the Holy Spirit in many ways once we come to faith in Jesus, and Paul begins the list with love, as it says in Galatians 5:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love… (Galatians 5:22)

Just as God loved us even while we were yet sinners, God transforms us so that we would begin to love our neighbor, who is also a sinner. God entrusts us with spreading the message of the gospel not because we’re necessarily trustworthy, but because He Himself is trustworthy, and He’s given us His Spirit.

So when you don’t feel like loving your neighbor, pray for strength from the Holy Spirit in you, God in you, who God the Father placed in you by grace through faith in Jesus, that you might love as He loves.

And the love that we’re to have for our neighbor isn’t just an occasional love, as if we can fulfill our duty of love once a year or even once a year. Paul wrote in another place:

Do everything in love. (1 Corinthians 16:14)

In other words, even when we’re by ourselves, and have no one around who we might show an act of love, even then our actions ought to be done out of love. Think, how can you use your time even then to serve God and others? How can you spend less time and energy serving yourself, attending to your sense of desire for ease and entertainment, and more time and energy even then serving your neighbor?

This can obviously look very different for each of us, as we all have a variety of gifts and abilities. For me, lately, it means editing videos of my sermon each week which I can then post online in various places, so that the gospel can be heard around the world.

For my daughter Amber, it often means crocheting gifts for others, or crocheting items that she could sell to fundraise for mission trips. It’s something she enjoys, but it’s also something she can do for others.

So this ties into spiritual gifts and the passions that God has uniquely given to each of us. God calls each of us to use what He’s given us to love Him and love others.

We’re not to keep our faith to ourselves. We’re to love people. This ought to be a huge change in the lives of those who come to faith in Jesus. Jesus said in John 13:

I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. (John 13:34-35)

God invites us to love as He loves, and empowers us to do it by the power of His Spirit in us.

Having a spirit of love means seeing others the way God sees us. Having a spirit of love means treating others with compassion, even when their sins may warrant otherwise. Having a spirit of love means extending forgiveness, grace, and understanding to others, recognizing that we, too, are recipients of God’s mercy despite our imperfections. It means having empathy and kindness, seeking to build up rather than tear down, selflessly serving others, putting their needs before our own, and striving to encourage them in their journey of faith and life.

In short, having a spirit of love means showing Jesus to others through our words and actions, because Jesus exemplifies unconditional love toward us and calls us to do the same.